Yesterday, data from the National Association of Realtors (NAR) showed that existing home sales fell 7.1% in February to a seasonally adjusted annual rate of 5.08 million in February from 5.47 million in January. The number missed economists’ expectations of 5.31 million and marked a 3-month low. All four regions reported lower sales in the months, with the Northeast and Midwest regions leading the decline, falling 17.2% and 14.8%, respectively.

NAR economist, Lawrence Yun, said the main issue continues to be a supply and affordability problem.

Samantha DeBianchi, founder and CEO of DeBianchi Real Estate and the first woman to appear on Bravo’s Million Dollar Listing, blames seriously inflated prices and think that this year is the grand finale in real estate.

Samantha says:

There’s been numerous reports that inventory is tight…while in some major markets (South Florida), inventory isn’t necessarily tight…it’s just that prices are so inflated that the $300k home is listed for $450k and the $800k home is listed for $1M–which leads people to believe that there is no inventory…because there isn’t inventory in the price points where these homes actually should be placed.

Even with low mortgage rates, inflated prices have been scaring off many potential buyers questioning the market’s stability and whether or not they should “ride out” what’s currently happening and wait for prices to stabilize or lower.

I personally think that this year is the grand finale in real estate. If you’re a seller, SELL. Prices have been increasing at rapid levels and it’s doomed to slow down this year. I don’t think there’s a recession, but I do believe things will slow down as a whole as there is a need for buyers to catch up with the high price points we are currently at.